Indictment in Toshakhana case on 4th
PTI Chairman Imran Khan gestures as he speaks during an interview with AFP at his residence in Lahore on May 18. PHOTO: AFP
An accountability court on Thursday decided to indict PTI founding chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana (gift repository) reference on January 4.
Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the Toshakhana reference in the premises of Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail where the deposed premier was currently incarcerated.
NAB Deputy Prosecution General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi and his team appeared in the court. The accused were provided with copies of the Toshakhana reference and other necessary documents.
The hearing was adjourned till January 4 for indicting the couple. The Toshakhana is a state department which retains gifts given by state officials, foreign diplomats and heads of different governments.
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According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the recipient of the gifts must report them to the cabinet division and pay an appropriate amount if they wanted to keep it personally.
On December 19, NAB filed a new reference against Imran and his wife in the accountability court for allegedly retaining 58 gifts against an undervalued amount over Rs142 million of the total of 108 that the couple had received from different heads of states and foreign dignitaries during the PTI founding chairman’s tenure as the premier.
The court has also adjourned the hearing on the bail applications in the £190 million settlement and Toshakhana references till December 30 NAB’s presentation of its arguments on Imran’s bail applications is still under way.